Occlusion Control System for A Hearing Instrument and A Hearing Instrument

Content Provider	The Lens
Abstract	An apparatus for a hearing instrument, the hearing instrument being configured to be at least partially placed in an ear canal of a wearer of the hearing instrument, the apparatus comprising: a sealing element configured to seal off the ear canal when the hearing instrument with the apparatus is at least partially positioned in the ear canal, wherein operation of the sealing element is controlled by an electric control signal, the sealing element being at least partially made from an electroactive material.
Related Links	https://www.lens.org/lens/patent/010-236-506-072-911/frontpage
Language	English
Publisher Date	2019-05-23
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Patent
Jurisdiction	United States of America
Date Applied	2019-01-03
Applicant	Gn Hearing As
Application No.	201916239154
Claim	An apparatus for a hearing instrument, the hearing instrument being configured to be at least partially placed in an ear canal of a wearer of the hearing instrument, the apparatus comprising: a sealing element configured to seal off the ear canal when the hearing instrument with the apparatus is at least partially positioned in the ear canal, wherein operation of the sealing element is controlled by an electric control signal, the sealing element being at least partially made from an electroactive materia The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a feature of the electroactive material of the sealing element varies based on a characteristic of the electric control signa The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the feature comprises an acoustic impedance, and wherein the acoustic impedance of the electroactive material of the sealing element varies based on the characteristic of the electric control signa The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a feature of the electroactive material of the sealing element varies based on an applied electric field, the applied electric field being based on a characteristic of the electric control signa The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein a voltage of the applied electric field is anywhere from 0 V to 1.5 V. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the electroactive material comprises an elastomer. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the electroactive material is shaped as a membrane. The apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising a polymer layer that at least partially overlaps with the membrane-shaped electroactive materia The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the polymer layer is made of silicone. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the polymer layer is arranged to face the ear canal when the hearing instrument is at least partially positioned in the ear cana The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein at least one of the membrane-shaped electroactive material and the polymer layer has at least one perforation. The apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein a total acoustic mass of the at least one perforation exceeds 5000 kg/m 4 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the electroactive material comprises carbon nanotubes. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the electroactive material in a first state has a first acoustic impedance and in a second state has a second acoustic impedance, the first acoustic impedance being higher than the second acoustic impedance. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the electric control signal for controlling operation of the sealing element is based on an electrical signal comprising information on external sounds. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the electric control signal for controlling operation of the sealing element is based on an electric signal comprising information on sounds generated in a sealed off portion of the ear cana The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a detector configured to detect whether the wearer of the hearing instrument is speaking, wherein the detector is configured to output a detector electric signal in response to a detected speech, and wherein the electric control signal for controlling operation of the sealing element is based on the detector electric signa A hearing instrument comprising the apparatus according to claim 1 . The hearing instrument according to claim 18 , further comprising a signal processor configured to provide the electric control signa The hearing instrument according to claim 18 , comprising an earpiece, wherein the sealing element is a part of the earpiece. The hearing instrument according to claim 20 , wherein the earpiece comprises one or more apertures, and the sealing element covers the one or more apertures. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a signal processor configured to provide the electric control signa
CPC Classification	LOUDSPEAKERS; MICROPHONES; GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS;DEAF-AID SETS;PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS;SPEECH RECOGNITION;SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES;SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING
Extended Family	151-396-992-399-607 147-667-916-219-077 030-092-064-086-907 106-314-682-086-003 038-684-738-062-726 081-524-593-101-283 048-803-659-683-42X 111-756-550-270-000 176-205-629-811-217 058-395-534-681-845 010-236-506-072-911 156-297-217-287-776
Patent ID	20190158968
Inventor/Author	Boley Jonathan
IPC	H04R25/00 G10L25/78
Status	Active
Owner	Gn Hearing A/s
Simple Family	151-396-992-399-607 156-297-217-287-776 058-395-534-681-845 106-314-682-086-003 010-236-506-072-911
CPC (with Group)	H04R25/652 H04R1/1016 H04R1/1041 H04R25/305 H04R25/456 H04R25/48 H04R25/656 H04R2225/41 H04R2225/61 H04R2460/05 H04R2460/09 H04R2460/11 H04R2460/15 G10L25/78 H04R25/505 H04R2225/025
Issuing Authority	United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Kind	Patent Application Publication